Welcome, Spring
by Kat Lee formerly Pirate Turner
Summary: Spring has come at last to the X-Men and their family.  Slash and Het Pairings.


Title: "Welcome, Spring"  
>Author: Pirate Turner<br>Rating: PG  
>Summary: Spring has come at last to the X-Men and their family.<br>Warnings: Slash, Established Relationships, Het  
>Word Count: 1,281<br>Date Written: 28 March, 2011  
>Challenge: XDisneyDreamers' Challenge of the Week for 25 March, 2011<br>Disclaimer: Professor Charles "Professor X" Francis Xavier, Erik Magnus "Magneto" Lehnsherr, Henry "Hank" "Beast" McCoy, Robert "Bobby" "Iceman" Drake, Logan/Wolverine, Victor "Sabertooth" Creed, all other characters mentioned within, and the X-Men are & TM Marvel comics and Disney, not the author; are used without permission; and may not be used without permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Charles smiled, basking in the warm, morning sunlight while watching over his beloved students. Jean, Rogue, and Warren with Betsy in his arms had all taken to the blue skies almost as soon as they had awakened today. Remy and Jubilee had left on his bike a couple of hours previous to go after ice cream, and Charles knew that there was no telling when they'd see the mischievous former thieves again. His blue eyes twinkled as he thought of all the things the two like-minded friends might get into together. Wherever they ended up, if they needed him, he'd bail them out, lecture them about whatever they shouldn't have done, and then smile and laugh about their antics when no one save his life partner was looking.

Yet that would be then and this was now, and Charles was thoroughly enjoying watching the effects of the warming weather upon his family. Scott was busily lighting up the grill while Wolverine carved a brightly shining, red apple with his claws. The Canadian's eyes kept lifting to the skies, and Charles knew that he was watching Ororo's elegant dance through the white, fluffy clouds. His smile grew more wry and twisted with self-depreciation as he recalled how, as a young boy, he had once often wondered if the clouds tasted like cotton candy. He would have to ask Ororo to bring him a taste of the clouds one day to finally satisfy that youthful curiosity once and for all.

He laughed at the thought, his blue eyes dancing, and his ears caught other laughter further down the lawn. He turned in his chair and watched Bobby and Hank rolling through the cool, green grass, their arms, legs, and lips a beautiful entanglement. Though he suspected Bobby of lacing the grass with catnip after having seen him with a small, purple bag earlier, Charles' heart nonetheless warmed even hotter than the sun at the sight. They had all been through so much over the last few years; he was both glad and thankful to see that his students finally felt free enough with one another to act with their true loves upon their real desires.

He felt movement behind him, and his heart gave a welcoming, familiar jump. A shadow of a tall man fell across his chair, and Erik laid his hand gently upon Charles' right handlebar. "It is nice to see them enjoying themselves so," Erik remarked softly in his deep voice.

"It is," Charles agreed, smiling. He gazed again at the budding flowers, green leaves and grass, fluttering bumblebees, singing birds, and, most of all, at his joyful students and gave a happy, contented sigh. "Welcome, Spring," he spoke.

"Indeed," Erik replied. "We have all suffered through the cold Winter and are more than ready to embrace Spring with full and open arms."

The lovers knew that it was not just the seasonal Winter they spoke of but rather of the Winters that had plagued their lives, the times without each other, the times pretending to be happy for the sakes of their people while hurting inside as they denied their true feelings, and the times when they and their people had suffered openly. Life had hit them with so many tragedies that, at times, they had barely been able to catch their breaths or stop their hearts and heads from spinning, but now, at last, a rainbow of peace had been cast upon their world. They knew it would not last, but whatever came after their Spring, they would face and best it together.

Charles reached up and placed his hand on Erik's as he wished, though he knew it impossible, that their Spring could be eternal. "I love you, Erik!" he said, smiling.

The former Master of Magnetism bent, lifted Charles' hand to his lips, and kissed the back of his hand. "And I love you, Charles!" he replied truthfully, gazing into his blue eyes whose merriment he wished could last forever and promised himself he would always remember, no matter what hardships might come their way in the future. His own blue eyes sparkled as he turned in the direction of the boisterous laughter now hailing from Hank and Bobby as they rolled down a grassy hilltop. He grinned with wry mischief lighting his handsome face at his love as he suggested, with a single raised eyebrow, "What do you say we race them?"

Charles gazed at Erik in shock for a moment, and then he shook his head and burst out laughing. "Yes!" he cried. "Yes, let's!"

The X-Men were astonished to see the man they all loved as a father and his boyfriend whom they had all also come to accept begrudgingly chasing Bobby and Hank down the hill. "ROLL FASTER!" Bobby yelped at Hank, but though they spun more swiftly down the hill, they could not catch the two much older men as they sailed down the hill. Charles and Erik reached the bottom of the hill first, laughing and crying out with glee every bit as loudly as their students and feeling happier and more youthful than they had in a very long time. Erik lifted Charles into his arms, spun him around, and brought him down against his lips. They kissed with every bit of heated passion and true, endless love they had and would always feel for each other alone, both feeling younger than they'd felt in decades.

Behind them, their students gazed at them in shock. Then Bobby, forgetting his own problems with Magneto for the love he felt for the man who'd been more of a father to him over the years than his own dad, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "GO FOR IT!" Hank laughed. Scott glowered, but his lips twisted. Ororo smiled, and Rogue, Jean, and Betsy giggled. Warren laughed.

Logan's claws shot through his apple's core, but then even he smiled. Heck, he thought, they'd almost all walked on the wrong side of the law at one time or another, and despite his own hatred for Magneto, he knew Charles loved him and being with Erik was the only thing he'd ever seen keep the old man happy. Besides, if any of them had any idea of the feral man he'd had in the past, they'd all think him as crazy as they had once thought Charles. What did it matter, he decided, who they loved as long as that love was returned and they were happy? He threw his head back and laughed, letting them know it was okay, and his laughter spurred on the others.

Ororo and Rogue zipped through the sky in looping circles while Warren ducked Betsy into a cloud. Jean landed behind her husband, took him in her arms, and kissed his muscular shoulder while he laid the first hotdogs onto the grill. Hank pressed Bobby into the ground and kissed him more deeply, his tongue thrusting into his mouth as a sound hovering somewhere between a soft growl and a lusty purr hailed from deep within his throat. Through it all, Charles and Magnus continued to kiss.

Every X-Man knew that Spring had come at last, bringing with it the joy they'd all needed and longed for for so long. It might not last, but they would make the most of it while they possessed it and celebrate every moment to its fullest. Then, together, they would stand, best whatever came their way, and then, hopefully, find Spring waiting for them again after the next long, hard Winter. The sun beamed upon the mutants as they celebrated, laughing gaily and enjoying the warmth, happiness, and love all day long.

**The End**


End file.
